Tyndareus, Tyndareōs
（
Τυνδάρεως). The son of Perieres and
Gorgophoné, or, according to others, son of Oebalus, by the nymph Batia or by
Gorgophoné. Tyndareus and his brother Icarius were expelled by their step-brother
Hippocoön and his sons; whereupon Tyndareus fled to Thestius in Aetolia, and assisted
him in his wars against his neighbours. In Aetolia Tyndareus married Leda, the daughter of
Thestius, and was afterwards restored to Sparta by Heracles. By Leda, Tyndareus became the
father of Timandra, Clytaemnestra, and Philopoë. One night Leda was embraced both by
Zeus and by Tyndareus, and the result was the birth of Pollux and Helena, the children of
Zeus, and of Castor and Clytaemnestra, the children of Tyndareus. The patronymic Tyndarĭdae is frequently given to Castor and Pollux, and the
female patronymic
Tyndăris to Helen and
Clytaemnestra. When Castor and Pollux had been received among the immortals, Tyndareus invited
Menelaüs to come to Sparta, and surrendered his kingdom to him. See
Dioscuri;
Helena;
Leda.
